NWS confirms EF-3 tornado as Fox Valley begins storm cleanup Tuesday - WLUK

MENASHA (WLUK) -- People in the Fox Valley are waking for a day of storm clean up. A tornado tore through areas of Appleton, Neenah and Menasha Monday morning , leaving behind destroyed homes and businesses, power lines down and snapped trees. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado that struck Menasha was an EF-3 Tuesday morning. The tornado was 1,500 yards wide and traveled 12.1 miles with 140 mph wind speeds. PHOTOS: Community tackles tornado damage in wake of storms Local authorities are on the ground Tuesday, assessing the damage. FOX 11's Emily Beier was in Menasha where some streets are impassable due to downed power lines. Residents shocked by the extent of the damage. "It took an hour and 40 minutes to go 6 miles," Menasha resident Mickey Mueller said. "People were patient for the most part, but you get home and you don't expect that you're just gonna see carnage." "Yeah, so I mean it was crazy. It started getting really really dark," said Taylor Folske, Menasha. "We went to the back window and it was just moving, clouds were moving this way and then this way and then there was a whole like light blue shelf coming through. Then the sirens went off." "All of a sudden we heard a loud whistling, I looked out the window and the trees were just going everywhere and the wind was really bad and the water was hitting our window real loud," said Ellen McCoy, Menasha. Mueller said she had never seen damage like what the EF-3 tornado caused. She questioned how those in the city would move forward amid so much devastation. "Someone told me last night, eight weeks when I said three weeks, I think how do we do this? I mean, how do we do this?," Mueller said. "You can't leave everything and go to work. You can't not work, you can't work from home." Mueller expects the situation to be tough for everyone in Menasha. For heavily damaged areas, people should: Stay away from affected areas unless necessary. Avoid downed power lines and treat all utility lines as energized. Do not drive around barricades or enter areas closed by emergency personnel. Limit non-emergency travel to allow first responders and utility crews access to impacted areas. Call 911 for emergencies. Non-emergency issues should be reported through the appropriate non-emergency channels. Share your weather photos and videos with us here: PHOTOS: Storms leave wreckage behind as confirmed EF-2 tornado and hail damage mounts There is also a curfew in place for Menasha until further notice. The curfew is in place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., and applies to any person on foot, bicycle or any type of vehicle on any public street, avenue, highway, road, alley, park, school grounds, swimming beach, cemetery, playground, public building or any other public place. The curfew does not apply to any person whose employment makes it necessary to be upon the streets, alleys or public places or in any motor vehicle during such hours. Thousands of customers in the Fox Valley are without power Tuesday. Click here to see an outage map Matt Cullen says crews are making progress for Wisconsin Public Service customers. Since the start of the storms, crews have restored power to more than 19,000 customers, while We Energies has restored power to more than 79,000 customers across the state. Cullen adds there is extensive damage to power lines and poles so it will take some time to completely restore power to all. There are currently three emergency shelters open for residents affected by the storms: Christ the Rock Church at W6254 US Highway 10/114 in Menasha; it is open for overnight sheltering. The Elks Lodge at 328 Nicolet Blvd in Menasha Calvary Bible Church on Oakridge Road in Neenah As of 7:30 p.m. Monday, Winnebago County officials said there have been no reported fatalities from the storms. In Outagamie County, executive Tom Nelson says a small part of Appleton is not accessible at this time. That area would be around Prospect Avenue, the southwestern part of the city near Xavier High School. He says if residents need help, to dial 211 for non-emergencies. Winnebago County executive Gordon Hintz said seeing the photos and videos from the devastation was pretty tough and it will take some time to recover. "Menasha is a well-established community. There are people who have owned those homes for years and when you just look at the houses, the trees, the infrastructure, it just looks like a bulldozer came through and knocked it over and so I think we have some long days ahead of us but we’re going to make it through this." He adds county departments are working together to share how those in the community can best help those affected by the storms. Volunteer Fox Cities has created a sign-up page for community members interested in helping with storm response and recovery efforts. At this time, volunteers are being placed on standby while response needs are identified. Anyone with a food truck, prepared food, or drinking water who would like to support the response should report to the north parking lot of the former UW - Oshkosh Fox Cities campus. All bottled water, emergency supplies, and other donations should be dropped off at the campus entrance next to the Barlow Planetarium. The location opened Tuesday. Portable restrooms and handwashing stations are set up at the site. To get there, use the Highway 441 Oneida Street exit, then: Travel south on Oneida Street, Turn west onto Midway Road, Enter the campus donation area, Return east on Midway Road and travel north on Oneida Street to return to Highway 441 ----- This story has been updated to correct the estimated wind speed of the tornado.